SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two separate cases of domestic violence occurring overnight on Tuesday.
Deputies responded to a home near Converse just after a woman called around 1 a.m. asking for help, but the call was disconnected. When authorities called back, a man answered saying he had shot his girlfriend in the leg and was going to kill her, then himself.
Dispatchers tried to convince the man out of shooting the woman but when deputies arrived, they heard two gunshots.
Several of them forced their way into the home and found the man dead inside. They said his fatal injuries appear to be self-inflicted. The woman was found with life-threatening injuries but died at a hospital.
During a press conference with Sheriff Javier Salazar, he revealed this wasn’t the only domestic violence incident deputies had responded to that night. At another scene in Saint Hedwick, Salazar said a 16-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck by her boyfriend.
She survived but Salazar expressed concerned over the fact deputies responded to two separate cases within one night, even calling domestic violence an ‘escalating crime’.
“Teen dating violence is real every bit as much as adult violence [or] family violence,” said Salazar.
Domestic violence prevention advocate Marta Pelaez was devastated to hear about the overnight violence. She is the CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services and the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter.
“It’s difficult, especially on days like this, where you hear not one but two incidents,” said Pelaez.
Pelaez said one in three teens are abused in Bexar County. She believes there needs to be prevention programs, especially in Texas Schools.
Last year, state legislatures passed SB 9 during a second special session. The law, which went into effect in December 2021, requires school districts in Texas teach students about sating violence, family violence, child abuse and sex trafficking.
However, Pelaez calls the bill an ‘incomplete effort’ because it allows parent to opt their children out of the education.
A year ago, Pelaez created the Youth Advisory Council. The council’s mission is to engage high school students and freshman college students in addressing generational domestic violence that affects their lives and their school with the goal of breaking the cycle early.
Pelaez said the program is in several San Antonio high schools and works as a temporary fix for violence prevention education.
“It’s there to have the conversation with the teachers and the school counselors until there is a different policy in place to bring the programs to the schools,” said Pelaez.
Most importantly, Pelaez said if you find yourself in an abusive situation to get out and call police for help.